Shinigami: Ghost In The Machine
by Ysabet
Summary: A rather peculiar story regarding recruitment among the Shinigami, and why you should be careful what you call youself. A crossover with.... well, you can figure it out yourself, can't you? Take a look.


Shinigami: Ghost In The Machine _Hi y'all. Apparently I've lost my mind; this is a Yami no Matsuei fic, crossed with.... well, figure it out yourself. Ummmm, I have no explanations for how or why this popped up--- It just did. Hope you like it..... and when you figure out who the unnamed Shinigami (my creation) is talking to, please don't give it away in your reviews--- I want to keep the crossover secret as long as possible for each reader, and some of them read the reviews first! Thanks, and enjoy..... Oh yeah, the disclaimer: You know, I haven't the foggiest idea who owns either of these series, but they aren't me the last time I checked; all respect to them for their fine work, and don't sue me for playing with their tools, okay? Thanks...... Ysabet_

_P.S: Oh yeah--- PLEASE REVIEW! This is such a freaky story, I really want to know what people think about it. Thanks....._

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**Shinigami: Ghost In The Machine   
By Ysabet**  


  
  


Hi again. 

Hey!! Hey, sit down! It's okay, it's okay; I'm not gonna hurt you, guy. Remember me from the other day? You saw me when you were docking--- flew right through me, in fact. I'm okay though--- I wasn't really _there_ enough to be hurt. See? No damage! 

So..... you think you're seeing things, do you? You do that a lot?? Considering how much you've downed of that bottle I wouldn't be surprised if you did. But **I'm** really here, you know..... as much as I can be anywhere among the living, anyway. 

Here, lemmee have some of that. Whups, you almost dropped it!..... 

I guess I don't really blame you for being shook. I would've been, too, if I'd seen somebody like me when I was alive. But I guess that's why I'm here, you know? 

No--- of course you don't..... But you will. 

HAH!!! GOT IT!! Not fast enough, guy--- this bottle is _mine,_ now..... Whoo, that's good stuff! Y'know, I always thought that when I was dead that'd be one of the things I'd miss the most--- eating, drinking, that sort of rot. Funny how things turn out, isn't it? 

Oh hell, quit freaking out. And put that gun away--- you might be able to hurt me, but I'd heal so quick you wouldn't believe it. And you might not be able to..... I'm only about half here, y'see. That's my little talent----- being able to step part-way from my world to yours, with one foot in the grave and one on your doorstep. Or on your hanger floor, if you wanna be accurate about it, I guess. 

Speaking of hangers..... That's some, uh, CRAFT you've got there. So _that's_ what they look like, huh? Me and the others, we've heard a lot about 'em, but I've never actually seen one up close. My job usually takes me to the other end of the war--- you're a survivor, and the guys **I** usually see *aren't.* I'm not trying to be funny or anything; that's just how it is. 

See, this is what I was told when I was recruited: Sometimes people just don't **die right**. Sometimes they get stuck, or confused, or something **weird** happens to them (and shit, you wouldn't BELIEVE the levels of 'weird' I've hit since I started this gig), and they get lost. Maybe they turn into something twisted, or maybe somebody else makes them into something they don't want to be--- you think you've met some sickos since you started fighting in this war? Heh; believe me, man, you have NO idea. 

Sure wish **I** didn't. 

But anyway..... Here; you'd better take this. Wouldn't do for me to get drunk right now--- it's too hard stepping back across the distance when you're plowed. C'mon, take it--- I'm not gonna bite you. See? I'm just a ghost. 

Well, not _just_ a ghost. The people I deal with here in the living world, _they're_ just ghosts, poor slobs. Half the time they don't even realize they're dead, and that's pretty pathetic. But y'know, when you've just kicked the bucket after lying around for a couple of hours with half your brain caved in, you're not gonna see things too straight. 

Sad. Really, really sad; and sometimes I feel bad about what we do. I mean, we don't come here looking to make those poor suckers *live* again--- people like me show up to shove reality in their faces. We explain what's happened to them, fix stuff if it needs fixing..... which it usually does.... Most of the time ghosts can get away with their pretend lives only so long as it takes them to screw things up and become conspicuous. 

We can't just be nice guys and say "Awwww, we're sorry you're dead--- here, you can go live again now. Have a nice day!" Hell no. We take away the pathetic remnants of life that they're clinging to so desperately, and we push them over the edge. 

Into the void. You know, death. 

We do what we have to, me, my partner, the rest of us operatives. Of course, it helps knowing that there's something waiting for the ones we come for, out there _beyond_ the void..... That it's not just oblivion waiting for them. We know that--- who better?--- and it makes the job a little easier. 

Y'see, there's gotta be a balance. The dead belong with the dead, and the living belong with the living. The more that gets screwed up, the worse it gets for both worlds--- the more people just fall through the cracks and get lost. That's why _**we're**_ around..... We patch the cracks, and we try to catch the ones that fall. We've been there, most of us..... 

I guess there's another upside to the job, too; I've seen what happens to ghosts if they're left too long in the world. Most of 'em degenerate into mindless, hungry things--- nothing but a bunch of desires wrapped in the shell of a soul, eaten away from the inside out by madness. Horrible. Human beings just aren't _built_ to endure as ghosts for more than a century or two. 

Huh; by the look on your face you're wondering about _**me**_..... Well..... 

When you get recruited, things change. I guess something in me was allowed to get stronger, made different so that all these years just don't hit me like they would any other dead man. I don't mind it when I realize how old I am, or how old I would be if I were alive; it just doesn't matter. How old _am_ I? Uhhhhhh...... 

Never mind. Doesn't matter. 

Pass me that bottle again, would you?...... Thanks. Whooooo.... Me, I got killed in a stupid little skirmish in a war back on Earth that you probably don't even know about. And you know what still pisses me off about it? It wasn't even called a _war_ at first; they called it a 'police action.' Well, when you're getting mowed down by bullets you don't give a fat damn WHAT they call it--- you're D-E-A-D, dead, and that oughta be the end of it. You should be able to move on. 

Only..... I didn't. I kept wandering back and forth, back and forth, confused as hell, in and out of both worlds. I was driving the guys in charge out of their goddamned MINDS, you know? So finally a couple of them caught up with me and explained what had happened, and told me about what they did..... and offered me a job. After some training..... 

It's been pretty cool, really. I mean, I'd have rather stayed alive, of course!! But..... 

Back at the District things aren't bad; you've got people in charge, guys you'd just as soon not work with, budds you hang out with, pretty girls to stare at, all that sort of thing. It's a job--- but it's a purpose, too. Just like what _you_ do, right? I mean, you don't fly missions in those huge monsters just for a steady **paycheck**, do ya? 

Heh. Thought not. Here, guy---- Ah shit, the bottle's empty! I'm really sorry, man..... Oh, you gotta 'nother? Good deal. Well, here's to life and death and all the stuff inbetween!......... 

Good stuff. 

..... I guess you're wondering why I stopped in tonight. I said I'd tell you, and I guess I oughta. But hell, it's kinda hard..... 

Okay. I told you I had this little talent for being in both worlds, right? Right. Well, when I'm in both worlds at the same time I can _**see**_ into both of them at once, too. I don't do it much--- it's fucking _confusing_, man. But--- sometimes I can tell things about people by looking at them both ways at once. 

Things like..... well..... 

You've got this _**look**_ all over you, guy. And I know what it is. I've seen it before, on people whose number was just about up. Saw it about two weeks ago back on earth--- me and my partner were over in some ruins in the old Sanc Kingdom area, looking for some sort of spirit that was draining the life from the locals. There was this old man; he wasn't in bad shape or anything, but he had that _**look**_ all over him, and the next thing you know he ends up under the wheels of a truck loaded down with scrap metal. Dead as a doorknob. 

I've seen it before on all sorts of people, but the one thing they have in common is that they ALL bought the farm pretty soon afterwards. 

**.....Huh.....** you're taking it a hell of a lot calmer than I thought you would..... I guess after you've fought long enough, the prospect of dying just doesn't faze you much, hm? I remember..... 

Wow--- you ***spoke!*** Thought the cat had got your tongue for a while there. 'When?' Hell, *I* dunno! Wish I could tell you, flyboy. I just know it'll be soon. 

'**Why** am I telling you this?' 

Well....... there's lots of reasons, really. 

Y'know, I'm gonna catch nine kinds of hell when my bosses find out that I went and told a living soul about us, and about the fact that he was gonna buy it soon. But..... I was a soldier too. And besides----- 

----- You kinda remind me of _**me**_, back when I was alive. Same cocky attitude, same shit-eating grin and all. 'Course I didn't have hair like that--- I know some women that'd KILL to have hair like that! Bet they love to play with it..... Heh. 

There's this, too..... you've got talent. Possibilities..... potential. When I looked at you from both worlds I could see *your* abilities shining through--- I don't know what they are, but there's something there, something really _strong._

So--- I just wanted you to know about us, and about what's coming up for you. Y'see, there's room for you with **_us_**, if you want to try this when your time's up. I think you'd do a hell of a lot of good. 

Hey now, don't panic--- you're looking pretty shaky there. Have another drink..... Don't drink it *all*, you ass! Pass it on over. Thanks. 

Yeah--- I think you'd do pretty damned well at the District. Why not? I mean, when you get snuffed you can always head on up and out if you want to..... I know some of the stuff you've done; you've been fighting since you weren't much more than a kid, am I right? You flew the first version of that monster craft of yours when you were just fifteen, and that was quite a while ago. You deserve some peace, if that's what you really want. 

But if you **don't**..... If you want to keep on fighting, only for a different cause..... Not peace on a big scale this time--- peace on an individual scale, _one soul_ at a time..... 

Heh..... you've got that 'new challenge' look in your eyes. _Thought_ that'd catch your attention. 

Anyway, I'm gonna keep hanging around, watching. You won't see me--- I won't bug you or anything--- but when you buy the farm, I'll be there. And if you wanna go try this gig out, I'll play recruiter. 

I'd better go now..... Much more of this shit and I'll be too fucking polluted to find my way out of a paper bag, much less from the world of the living to the world of the dead..... 

'What's it **like**?' You mean being an operative, dying, or just plain being dead? That oughta be obvious. Dying is a son-of-a-bitch; being dead's a cakewalk. It's when you're dying that you regret all the stuff you didn't do, and you feel horrible about how much pain and grief your death's gonna leave behind you; you think about how much it hurts and all that, and yet you want it to go on so's you know you're _still alive....._

But being dead is easy. And being one of _us_, well..... Hell, flyboy, you already call yourself by the _right name!_ That's what got my attention, y'know--- I just *had* to see the damned fool that was calling himself a 'god of death!' 

Shit, man, you're already half-way there, what with a name like that. You're already almost one of us. 

Gonna head on now while I can still walk. Thanks for the whisky and for not running screaming all over the place, okay? And..... 

..... when you end up in a battle you can't get out of, I'll be **there**, waiting. If you want peace, I'll understand, and I'll escourt you all the way to the gate. But if you want to keep fighting--- well hell, I'm game for that **too**. 

_Seeya later, flyboy._

Don't be a stranger. 

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_Hi there....... So: What'd you think? Strange enough for you? Was it a complete flop, or would you read more along the same line? I NEED TO KNOW! Because I have this strange little story-arc planned out, and I'm a bit ambivalent regarding it; it's pretty weird (not that that's stopped me before..... but some encouragement would be nice). The storyline would involve the same characters found in this story and would become even MORE of a crossover; other familiar characters would show up, particularly in the third part. Possibly the titles will give you more of a hint of the plots. The 'Shinigami Arc' would, in total, be as follows: _

1. Shinigami: Ghost In the Machine 

2. Shinigami: "As Ye Sow....." 

3. Shinigami: Giant's Dance 

Well? If my furry, fangy muse makes me, I'll have to write 'em anyway--- but I'd like to know if there's anyone out there who wants to read another Yami No Matsuei story that DOESN'T revolve around How-Person-A-Feels-About-Person-B-And-The-Traumatic-Display-Of-Their-True-Affections-With-Accompanying-Violins. No disrespect to those who write said stories--- I read 'em, I write 'em, I review 'em, & I like 'em! (most of the time.) But there's an awful lot of those on the net, no matter the genre or the gender (and, by the way, I've no problem at all with tasteful yaoi or shonen ai; whatever floats your boat, as they say..... though I reserve the right to make the above-mentioned characters severely heterosexual because they're just too bishounen to give up. Nyahh, nyahhh!). I just want to know if anybody's interested in this type of thing. I'm listening........ Ysabet, Spreading Mayhem and Malarkey Wherever She Treads, Just Like a Huge Ferret (Poing! Poing! Stay good, Riff!)


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